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The Rocky River, Ohio, Police Department has identified and apprehended a suspect who allegedly ran Republican Rep. Max Miller and his family off the road this week.
Miller, who is Jewish, said he was nearly attacked Thursday by an “unhinged, deranged man” who had a Palestinian flag.
“The deranged hatred in this country has gotten out of control. Today I was run off the road in Rocky River, and the life of me and my family was threatened by a person who proceeded to show a Palestinian flag before taking off,” Miller wrote in a social media post.
Miller, a Republican who served as a reservist in the U.S. Marines and worked as a White House aide in President Donald Trump’s first administration before first winning election to Congress in northeastern Ohio, in 2022 said he filed a report with the U.S. Capitol Police and local police after the incident.
On Friday, Rocky River Police announced that after further investigation, it had identified the suspect as Feras Hamdan, a 36-year-old man from the area. According to the statement, after an arrest warrant was signed for him, Hamdan voluntarily turned himself into authorities with counsel and is now awaiting a court appearance.
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The police statement said that Miller has filed a criminal complaint for aggravated menacing and a motion for a criminal protection order against Hamdan. The department is investigating the incident along with U.S. Capitol Police, the Ohio State Patrol and the FBI.
“We know who this person is and he will face justice,” Miller said in a Thursday online statement. “As a Marine, a proud Jewish American and a staunch defender of Israel, I will not hide in the face of this blatant antisemitic violence.”
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Miller, in a video posted to social media, added, “I will continue to fight against antisemitism, Islamophobia and all other forms of hate.”
Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, seen here on Capitol Hilll Feb. 28, 2023, says he was nearly run off the road in Ohio Thursday by a protester. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call/Getty Images)
And speaking directly to the person he said tried to run him off the road, Miller added that if “you have an issue, take it to our office. You want to run me off the road, that’s a different story.”
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The incident involving Miller comes amid an increasing number of politically motivated attacks on both Republican and Democrat lawmakers. Last weekend, two leading Democratic state lawmakers in Minnesota and their spouses were shot in their homes, with two killed and two seriously wounded.
And cases of antisemitism and hate crimes towards Jewish Americans have surged in recent years, particularly since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023, according to a survey last year by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). The ADL is an international non-governmental organization founded to combat antisemitism and other forms of bigotry.
